Can a chick with a deformed leg live a full life?

[Anime2lover]

Her

They make wheels for dogs and cats.. If she gets around, name her Gimpy.

Her name is already uno XD

 

[writerskramp]

Her
Her name is already uno XD

Good name..

 

[FeatherTay]

I have a Hen named Hashbrown. She hatched out and was perfectly fine! One day she showed up with a.... curled..? foot and and I didn't know I could fix them, so she still has it today and is so sweet! She is almost a year old in June!

 

[JacinLarkwell]

They make wheels for dogs and cats.. If she gets around, name her Gimpy.

That was what we called my D'Anvers pullet. When there was no guest at our house,that it

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Probably, though I don't know how to make a wheel chair for a chicken XD

She can straighten her toes, but she can't bend her leg past a certain point. It feels like it is physically blocked from fully extending. And neither the splayed leg or slipped tendon treatments have made any difference.

But is she active and not peeping loudly every time she takes a step?

 

[Anime2lover]

Good name..

I think it's cute XD

 

[Lazygaze]

Hello! So I have a 22 week old pullet with a deformed leg. Her name is Yellow. When she hatched it was almost ‘normal looking’ but we could tell that there was something not *quite* right. As she grew older it became more and more twisted out and now her foot is almost like it’s on back to front - so she can put weight on it but she’s putting weight on the wrong side of her ankle, if that makes sense. I’ll take a video this evening and show you. There is no easy answer to your question; some days I think she is happy and she sits in the sunshine while her sisters potter around and she seems peaceful and happy to sit. She can walk but she struggles and has a pronounced limp, on flat level ground she can lollop around short distances but on anything uneven she is a mess. Other days she breathes with her beak wide open a lot which I believe is a sign of stress and pain, I guess we will never know for sure but I suspect she is in pain. When she was younger and it was in the process of deforming (if you see what I mean) we often wondered whether the kindest thing to do would be to euthanise her. My husband and I would literally alternate each day, one day I’d say we should end it and he would resist and the next day it would be vice versa! In the end we loved her too much though so we couldn’t bring ourselves to do it. I still don’t know if that was right or wrong!

I think if you have enough time to look out for a disable chicken then that’s okay, but I’m not gonna lie it’s a bigger job than just a normal chicken. She needs to be carried out in the morning, carried back in and lifted into her bed at night. She needs water and snacks delivery! Several times I have had to bath her (SHE LOVED THIS! And the subsequent blow dry) because she’s got herself covered in cecal poo- she also can’t preen properly in certain areas because she can’t put all her weight on one foot. She is a bit skinny and developmentally behind her sisters I guess because of the strain of it all. Both her sisters started laying (2 days ago actually!) and though her face is reddening she isn’t there yet. And she breaks my heart every day because she is so sweet and I really wish that things were different for her.

Ooh I did make a wheelchair for her with tiny wheels and everything From doing that I would recommend that if you are going to do it not to bother putting wheels on it at least to begin with, Just make a chair that raises her off the ground. I think the wheels freaked out because it meant it moved a little bit every time she moved, and she just ended up freaking out and flapping herself out of it. But chickens with one bad leg obviously have a lot of constant strain on the good leg and I actually think it was really good for her to have the weight taken off her good leg for a bit. Actually I might get that wheelchair out and try it again… sometimes I literally sit with her holding her a supporting her body to give her good leg a rest. God I am a pushover

I’m happy to give you ANY advice and answer any questions I can because I know it’s hard to find info you want and need when you have a disabled chicken! So do feel free to drop me a message or open a post here and tag me

 

[Lazygaze]

This is her recently

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Hello! So I have a 22 week old pullet with a deformed leg. Her name is Yellow. When she hatched it was almost ‘normal looking’ but we could tell that there was something not *quite* right. As she grew older it became more and more twisted out and now her foot is almost like it’s on back to front - so she can put weight on it but she’s putting weight on the wrong side of her ankle, if that makes sense. I’ll take a video this evening and show you. There is no easy answer to your question; some days I think she is happy and she sits in the sunshine while her sisters potter around and she seems peaceful and happy to sit. She can walk but she struggles and has a pronounced limp, on flat level ground she can lollop around short distances but on anything uneven she is a mess. Other days she breathes with her beak wide open a lot which I believe is a sign of stress and pain, I guess we will never know for sure but I suspect she is in pain. When she was younger and it was in the process of deforming (if you see what I mean) we often wondered whether the kindest thing to do would be to euthanise her. My husband and I would literally alternate each day, one day I’d say we should end it and he would resist and the next day it would be vice versa! In the end we loved her too much though so we couldn’t bring ourselves to do it. I still don’t know if that was right or wrong!

I think if you have enough time to look out for a disable chicken then that’s okay, but I’m not gonna lie it’s a bigger job than just a normal chicken. She needs to be carried out in the morning, carried back in and lifted into her bed at night. She needs water and snacks delivery! Several times I have had to bath her (SHE LOVED THIS! And the subsequent blow dry) because she’s got herself covered in cecal poo- she also can’t preen properly in certain areas because she can’t put all her weight on one foot. She is a bit skinny and developmentally behind her sisters I guess because of the strain of it all. Both her sisters started laying (2 days ago actually!) and though her face is reddening she isn’t there yet. And she breaks my heart every day because she is so sweet and I really wish that things were different for her.

Ooh I did make a wheelchair for her with tiny wheels and everything From doing that I would recommend that if you are going to do it not to bother putting wheels on it at least to begin with, Just make a chair that raises her off the ground. I think the wheels freaked out because it meant it moved a little bit every time she moved, and she just ended up freaking out and flapping herself out of it. But chickens with one bad leg obviously have a lot of constant strain on the good leg and I actually think it was really good for her to have the weight taken off her good leg for a bit. Actually I might get that wheelchair out and try it again… sometimes I literally sit with her holding her a supporting her body to give her good leg a rest. God I am a pushover

I’m happy to give you ANY advice and answer any questions I can because I know it’s hard to find info you want and need when you have a disabled chicken! So do feel free to drop me a message or open a post here and tag me

Maybe she’s panting because it’s tiring walking around mostly on one leg??

 

[Lazygaze]

Well, I don't have a job so....... I have all the time in the world to take care of it. How should a roost be prepared for this chick should it keep going strong?

My disabled chicken can’t roost, she sleeps in shavings next to her sisters as they roost (carpenter husband made it especially )